Beauty is the Beast
by Xirysa
Summary: FE7 Eliwood's POV after the death of Ninian. Random thought of mine - I really only wrote it because I liked the title. EliwoodxNinin centric, some other pairings inside though. First FE fic as well. Please R&R, no flames, constructive criticism, please!


**Xirysa Says:** Well, I was listening to songs from Disney's _Beauty and the Beast_ when I got the idea for this fic. Plus, I really like this title. This is my first Fire Emblem fic, so constructive criticism is much welcome. Um... Yeah the POV for this is gonna keep changing, so... Erm. Yeah. That's it for now. I've of course taken some liberties with some things, so I hope I don't get pelted with too many heavy and sharp objects... I also had to interject some of my favorite pairings in here. Of course. These include... Er... EliwoodxNinian (of course) KentxLyndis (because I really like this pairing), HectorxFlorina (personally, I find this too cute for words), SainFiora (once again... d'awwww...) and TacticianxHeath (it's not that I don't like Priscilla... she's actually one of my favorite characters; I just love Heath too much)  
This is Eliwood's POV after Ninian dies. So... Yeah I'm the tactician (who is in love with Heath, by the way XD). Brownie points for originality...  
And as much as I wish I did, I do not own Fire Emblem. (Oh how I wish this were not so...)

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Beauty is the Beast

_We had actually met a year before this story really takes place. Of course, she had been accosted by bandits and had lost consciousness when I found her, while I had merely been a noble doing his duty to protect innocent civilians. Therefore, she really didn't know until a year later that it had been I who had saved her. It had never crossed my mind that I would have gotten to know her like I had, much less fallen in love with her. I sit here on the bare earth under the stars, stacks of parchment nearby and a quill pen in my hand. My ink pot stands at attention not too far from my hand. I've lost her, and with it, possibly the best days of my life. I would do anything to bring her back, though it was by my hand that she died. I write this, staring at those pinpricks of light in the distance that so remind me of her eyes. The wind blows, bringing with it the scent of wildflowers in bloom; I instantly remember her touch and smell as we danced together under the moonlight, the taste of her on my lips as I held and kissed her for the first time. I write this not to forget, but to remember. To never forget my dear, sweet, and beautiful one. Ninian. The Beauty that was the Beast.  
_

-x-x-x-

I had never met anyone like her before. She was delicate, a great difference from many of the women in our small army. Shy but not timid, soft spoken but still firm. She was different, and she was unique.

She was the kind of person nearly everyone could talk to; from our tactician Xirysa and the other lords, to our knights and swords-for-hire, mercenaries, fighters, mages, and healers. All could look to her for comfort and advice. It didn't matter if they were young or old; she would care just the same.

Her beauty I found breath taking, ethereal and mysterious. When she spoke, her voice was like a soft spring rain, bringing like back to lands choked by winter's cold embrace. However, what drew me to her the most were her eyes. Bright and blood red, they shone with intelligence and understanding. Yet beneath the compassion and kindness were the whispers of sadness and doubt. When she smiled, her eyes lit up, although the melancholy remained. Though I did not know why her eyes held such emotion, I always did everything in my power to make her happy. Just to make her smile.

She smiled the most when she was in the company of her brother or when she was dancing. I loved to watch her dance, whether it was just her or she managed to get our genius to dance with her. It was the only time her face did not contain any sadness, instead holding only pure joy and unexpressed happiness. This joyfulness even reached her eyes, although I could still see a glimmer of hopelessness now and again that I did not understand.

When she danced, her fair, sea green hair would fan around her in a feather light silken sheet. The thin, gauzy material of her clothing would dance and flow with her movements. She would twirl and glide barefooted across the ground, never caring where she stepped but always avoiding the thorns and jagged rocks that littered the earth. She looked like some mystical or ethereal moon princess when she danced; I found it hard to believe that she was merely a traveling performer.

There was only one person in the entire company that could make her laugh and smile with a single word, and that person was her younger brother. He would present her a small wildflower, and she would smile and tuck it behind her ear. Sometimes, he would hide in a bush or behind a tree until his sister walked by; he would then jump out of his hiding spot and throw his arms around her waist, laughing and hugging her tightly. She would laugh, the sound always reminding me of the tinkling of little silver wind chimes.

She also loved stories, both hearing and telling them. Her favorite ones were about the dragons - the great beasts that had once lived on Elibe, but had vanished nearly one thousand years ago. She loved to tell these tales, and I was always her awestruck audience, amazed at the pictures her words painted in my mind.

It was nearly a year after we had found her in a small boat off the coast of Valor Isle when I began to notice that certain members of our small army had begun to spend more time with certain people than others. Lady Lyndis began to spend more time with the auburn haired commander of her knights; my good friend Hector of Ostia could sometimes be seen being chased by a snow white pegasus whenever he got too close to its lavender haired rider. One could also often see our tactical genius, Lady Xirysa, and the wyvern rider Heath perched atop his wyvern's saddle for hours on end. Even the flirtatious cavalier under Lyndis's command had begun to spend a lot of time around the eldest of the three pegasus sisters. I hadn't realized it earlier, but ever since my father died I had begun to feel lonely. I began to spend more time around her in order to alleviate this problem, and we soon became good friends. Hector soon began to joke about how I had finally found someone right for me. I shoved him away at the time, telling him that we were merely good friends. But I soon began to second guess myself. Was that really all we were?

One night, I asked her to dance for me. She had actually approached me in order to thank me for saving her from the brigands that day long ago. I told her that it was alright, but rashly asked her to dance for me in return. She had blushed, but agreed, asking me to meet her in the nearby forest that evening, close to midnight. I arrived at the appointed time and found her waiting for me. Her brother was there too, a flute in his hand. It was different from his normal wooden one; this instrument was made of silver and was engraved with different patterns. They were both dressed in pure white and glowed pale in the darkness.

She took my hand and led me to the center of a small clearing in the forest. I sat down on a rock that happened to be at its edge. Her brother began to play a sad, haunting tune, and his sister closed her eyes for a moment. It looked to me as if she were drinking the music in. She opened her eyes and smiled at me, then began to move her body to the tune. She skipped and jumped, glided and floated around the meadow gracefully. I was entranced. She truly was beautiful.

After a few minutes, she approached me again and grasped my hand, pulling me up. She said she wanted me to dance with her. I agreed wordlessly. Although I am not a dancer by nature, I mimicked her movements and we were soon dancing in harmony. We danced together until we lost track of time; we only stopped when we noticed that the boy had fallen asleep, curled up on the rock where I had originally been sitting. We smiled at each other and made our way back to camp. I took the boy to the tent he and his sister shared, touching her cheek softly with one hand before I left to go back to my own tent. I felt a fluttering in my heart as I did so, and laid awake half the night trying to figure out what had happened. I thought about all that had happened between us and I realized what was stirring in the depths of my soul. I loved her.

I still remember the night I told her as if it were yesterday. I heard her soft voice cut through the darkness behind me, asking me if I wanted to take a walk with her. I turned and smiled, taking her small soft hand in my larger calloused one. We walked through a clearing, finally stopping by a small stream. We were quiet for a moment until I heard sobbing. She was crying, the tears running silently down her face. I was alarmed. I asked her what was wrong; she told me that she had been deceiving me for some time. She said she wasn't fit to stand in my line of sight, that she wasn't worthy of me. I put my hands on her cheeks and rubbed away her tears with my thumbs.

I told her I didn't care whether she had a secret or not, or whether she really was deceiving me. I said that it would never stop the way I felt about her. She looked up, surprise written across her face. I couldn't contain it. I leaned down and ended up whispering the words I had held on to for so long into her perfect, marble white ear.

"...I love you Ninian..."

Before I could stop myself, my mouth was soon pressed against her soft lips. I was about to pull away when I felt her deepen the kiss. She pulled back a moment later and smiled.

"I love you too, Lo - Eliwood..."

She leaned into me again, and I hugged her. We stayed like that for a long time before we headed back to camp.

-x-x-x-

_Two weeks later, we were fighting a mighty ice dragon. I looked around, frightened. I couldn't find Ninian anywhere. The beast above me roared and swiped claw towards me. Hector pulled me out of the way just in time. The creature was nearly defeated. I grabbed Durandal and charged, stabbing the creature in the heart. There was a flash of light as the creature died, and I brought my arm up to my face to shield my eyes. When I looked back again, I expected to see the great dragon's corpse. Instead, I saw the body of my beloved, who I thought was missing throughout the entire battle. My heart froze in my chest. I heard Xirysa behind me let out an uncharacteristic muffled sob as she buried her face in Heath's chest. Nils was running towards the body of his sister with Lyndis in tow.He reached her still form and cried into her chest, telling her not to leave him, that he needed her, that she couldn't go now... The entire company had fallen silent/ I now understood what Ninian had said when she told me she had been deceiving me. I suddenly remembered something that the old crone, Hannah the fortune teller, had told me nearly year ago._

_"Remember, young Lord Eliwood," she had cackled. "Remember always that Beauty is the Beast."_

_I had always knew in my heart that she was beautiful. I will always think that she was beautiful. But I know something that you do not, Hannah. Ninian will never be a beast._

**END**

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**Xirysa Says:** Wow... So yeah. Kind of rushed ending, I know. But I always liked this idea. Please, no flames. But constructive criticism is more than welcome. I give cookies to all who review! :) Thanks for reading!  
_EDIT:_ Well... I fixed some stuff I didn't like/notice before due to the intervention of the lovely Kitten Kisses. I hope that whatever seemed random/confusing is a lot less random/confusing now. THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU ARE SERIOUSLY MY NEW IDOL.


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